A Day in the Life of a District Farm Management Agent

Using the Extension Service portable microcomputer on location, Conard (Bud) Search (L) works up a gross margin analysis for the cash crop farm of St. Joseph County, Ml, farmer Ray Gentz.

(Michigan State University Photo)

What happens during a typical day for a District Extension Farm Management Agent? It is nearly impossible to respond to that question. The planning process, educational activities, indepth workshops, clientele involvement, university commitments, program organization and management, professional development, and County Extension Agent requests occur regularly during the course of a year. The description of one day's activities would give only a partial picture of the scope and depth of the District Extension Farm Management program a program where an Extension Agent with expertise in farm management serves a district or area including several counties.

The account that follows is an overview of one day in the life of a Michigan District Extension Farm Management Agent who serves nine counties in southwest Michigan.

5:25 a.m. Alarm clock rings. A new day dawns.

5:50 a.m. Listen to farm news, market news, and prices on the radio. 6:00 a.m. Participate in "High Energy Aerobics" at the "Y."

7:00 a.m. Leave for office. Dictate letters, instructions for secretary, and monthly narrative en route. Examples:

Dictate letter to a farm family as a followup to an in-depth Cooperative Extension Service Extension Management Team farm visit about financial analysis and strategic planning. Chaired the team comprised of an Extension Home Economist, County Extension Agent, and district fruit agent.

Dictate letter to a farmer describing contents of a fact sheet that answers his questions about estate planning.

Dictate letter to agents about presentations at a State district farm management agent/specialist meeting.

7:50 a.m. Pick up messages from preceding day. Return calls to agents and farmers. Examples:

Return call to a farmer with an income tax question about proper reporting to IRS about PIK and Roll, Government program payments, and conservation expenses.

Return a call from an Extension Agent requesting assistance with an educational program on farm business transfer.

Return a call from a County Extension Director who asked for help with planning an advisory group meeting.

Return a call from a hog farmer who produces over 9,000 market hogs each year. He asked for assistance evaluating expected changes in costs and returns for an investment in a manure handling facility to meet water quality standards. An appointment was set to meet at his farm with the area Swine Extension Agent and take the portable computer with capital investment software.

8:30 a.m. Give tapes to secretary. Leave office to attend Telfarm Business Analysis and New Telfarmer meeting (Telfarm is an educational program about computer farm records for management offered by the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service). Over 325 southwest Michigan farmers annually enroll in the project. There are about 1,100 participants statewide.

9:15 a.m. Arrive at meeting.

Meeting was planned by the County Extension Agents in the area and the district farm management agent to train new Telfarm enrollees in the Telfarm system and to train experienced Tel-farmers to interpret and use the financial statements and Comparative Business Analysis reports prepared by Tel-farm. This meeting was the result of suggestions made by Telfarmers at Tel-farm Advisory Group and Telfarm Check-In meetings. The guest speakers were a farm management specialist from campus, the district farm management agent, and Telfarm staff members. The group was split into two groups, with the new Telfarmers meeting with the County Extension Agent and Telfarm staff members. The experienced Tel-farmers met with the district farm management agent, a farm management specialist, and the director of the Telfarm project.

This type of meeting receives high marks from the new Telfarmers who have the opportunity to meet the people they have talked with on the phone. The new Telefarmers learn how to properly enter their records into the system.

Experienced Telfarmers are delighted with the meeting since they learn how to use the income statement, balance sheets, statement of change in financial position, business analysis, and monthly cash-flow reports in their businesses. Extension Agents find these Telfarmer training events very useful in their own professional development and place a high priority on participation. The planning team makes certain that each part of the program is designed to meet the farmers' needs. The district farm management agent took responsibility to provide the resources to produce the learning. A portable computer, computer projector, overhead projector, and videotape were used in the presentations. A special invitation was made to key agricultural leaders who arrived about 11:15 a.m. to observe the activities prior to an "Agricultural Interface Meeting" with County Extension Directors, State Cooperative Extension Service Administrators, and District Extension Agents.

NOON. Lunch with agricultural leaders.

This group had two representatives from each county and included farmers, farm organization leaders, agricultural lenders, county commissioners, and a legislator. The district farm management agent's 5-minute presentation explained the long-range financial planning workshops, "Dealing with the Drought," sponsored by each county of the district.

The 1988 Drought

In the spring of 1988, agents in southwestern Michigan determined that farmers wanted to learn how to evaluate the consequences of major adjustments in their farming operations. An inservice training event was scheduled to teach Whole Farm Planning to agents. A similar training event was held for key agricultural lenders. The University of Minnesota FINPACK software package was used for this training, which emphasized the use of FINLRB Financial Long-Range Budgeting. (See Part III, Chapter 8 on FINPACK.)